Capital Punishment: Is it Just for the Mentally Retarded?
Thesis Statement: Issuing the death penalty for the mentally retarded is an unjust punishment.
I. Legal Stand on Capital Punishment and the Mentally Retarded
A. Supreme Court
1. Eighth Amendment
2. Consensus
B. States
II. Definition of Mental Retardation
A. I.Q. Tests
B. Adaptive Skills
C. Onset Before the Age of Eighteen
III. Problems with Mental Retardation and the Law
A. Waiving Rights
B. False Confessions
C. Ineffective Assistance to Counsel
IV. Case Histories
A. John Paul Penry
B. Earl Washington
C. Daryl Atkins
Cassie Zimmer
Instructor Harrod
Online Composition II
21 Nov. 2003
Capital Punishment: Is it Just for the Mentally Retarded?
On July 4, 1776, a group of fifty-five gentlemen drafted a set of rules called the Constitution. It was then, as is now, the law of the land that Americans live under. However, through the years it has been amended to allow for changes in society, and the way the American people evolve in thought and virtue.
English: Total number of executions carried out in...
English: View of Capitol Hill from the U.S. Suprem...
Capital PunishmentIt is the job of the Supreme Court of the United States to interpret the Constitution and determine what exactly these amendments state.
Certain questions concerning the Constitution are often asked of society. One of these questions is whether or not the mentally retarded should be punishable by death if they are convicted of a crime. If taken into consideration the mentality, the challenges they face, and the abuse that is often imposed upon such persons, could Americans deal with them facing the same punishment as the mentally capable? Is this a callous society being lived in today, or one of compassion? When looking at the whole picture with a little bit of understanding and knowledge, the decision is basically one of majority. Issuing the death penalty for the mentally retarded...
Capital Punishment
Thank you for an excellent essay. You put forward the facts in a very balanced manner, you have obviously done a great deal of research and I think this is one of the best written essays I've read here.
Whilst I understand that victim's families want to see justice when a crime is committed, I fail to reconcile this with the execution of someone who is mentally retarted. Thank you for a truly insightful piece of work.
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